The Doings of Raffles Haw
The Doings of Raffles Haw (1891) is a science fiction novel authored by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle involving an inventor who has discovered a way to turn lead into gold.
Plot outline
A mysterious millionaire, Raffles Haw, comes to reside in Tamfield in Staffordshire. Prior to his arrival, locals gossip about him. As his house is being constructed, people wonder at the number of workers, their speed, and the complete disregard for the amount of money spent. When Haw arrives, he acquaints himself with the McIntyre family, which consists of Robert, his sister Laura, and their father. McIntyre senior had been a prosperous gun merchant, but has gone bankrupt and lost his sanity. Laura is engaged to Hector, the son of the vicar, Mr. Spurling. Hector is a sailor who is summoned for Naval duty at the beginning of the novel.
Disregarding McIntyre senior as a greedy beggar, Haw sets about to alleviate the misery of the people of Tamfield through the agency of the McIntyre siblings and Mr. Spurling. He saves many families and businesses with his timely financial succour. He has limitless funds, due to having discovered a process to turn lead into gold.
With the passage of time, he becomes disillusioned because his philanthropic activities—though they improve the situations of the recipients—don't improve the recipients themselves. Instead of becoming better citizens, most become parasites reliant upon alms from the millionaire. Despondent, he seeks the counsel of his fiancée, Laura McIntyre, the one person he supposes to be true to him. Unbeknownst to him, Laura has accepted his proposal of marriage without ending her previous engagement to Hector Spurling. As Raffles and Laura are talking, Hector enters the room, his service having ended earlier than expected. When Raffles discovers Laura and Hector are still engaged, he is heartbroken. The fallen millionaire locks himself in his laboratory, destroys his equipment and his immense fortune, and later is found dead. The process that he used to build his fortune is unrecoverable.
Reception
Dave Langford in a review White Dwarf #83, said that "Doyle has an old and familiar tale to tell: The Well-Meaning (but Mad) Scientist who can Make Gold, yet like King Midas finds out that Wealth Is But A Curse. Fascinating for collectors and completists."[1]
Reviews
- Review by Don D'Ammassa (1986) in Science Fiction Chronicle, #87 December 1986
- Review by John R. Pfeiffer (1986) in Fantasy Review, December 1986
- Review by Chris Bailey (1986) in Vector 135
- Review by Everett F. Bleiler (1991) in Science Fiction: The Early Years
See also
- "The Diamond Maker", an 1894 short story by H. G. Wells
References
- ^ Langford, Dave (November 1986). "Critical Mass". White Dwarf. No. 83. Games Workshop. p. 8.
{{cite magazine}}
: CS1 maint: year (link)
External links
- The Doings of Raffles Haw at Project Gutenberg
- The Doings of Raffles Haw public domain audiobook at LibriVox
- v
- t
- e
(canon)
- A Study in Scarlet (1887)
- The Sign of the Four (1890)
- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892)
- The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894)
- The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902)
- The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1904)
- The Valley of Fear (1914)
- His Last Bow (1917)
- The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927)
- The Lost World (1912)
- The Poison Belt (1913)
- The Land of Mist (1926)
- "When the World Screamed" (1928)
- "The Disintegration Machine" (1929)
- The Narrative of John Smith (1883) [2011]
- The Mystery of Cloomber (1889)
- Micah Clarke (1889)
- The Firm of Girdlestone (1890)
- The White Company (1891)
- The Doings of Raffles Haw (1892)
- Beyond the City (1892)
- The Great Shadow (1892)
- The Refugees (1893)
- The Parasite (1894)
- The Stark Munro Letters (1895)
- The Exploits of Brigadier Gerard (1896)
- Rodney Stone (1896)
- The Tragedy of the Korosko (1898)
- A Duet, with an Occasional Chorus (1899)
- Adventures of Gerard (1903)
- Sir Nigel (1906)
- The Maracot Deep (1929)
- "J. Habakuk Jephson's Statement" (1884)
- "Lot No. 249" (1892)
- "The Case of Lady Sannox" (1893)
- "The Club-Footed Grocer" (1898)
- "The Brown Hand" (1899)
- "The Terror of Blue John Gap" (1910)
- "The Horror of the Heights" (1913)
- Danger! and Other Stories (1918)
- "The Inner Room" (1898)
- "The Crime of the Congo" (1909)
- The Vital Message (1919)
- FairyTale: A True Story (1997 film)
- Photographing Fairies (1997 film)
- Arthur & George (2015 miniseries)
- Houdini & Doyle (2016 miniseries)
- Adrian Conan Doyle (son)
- Jean Conan Doyle (daughter)
- Charles Altamont Doyle (father)
- John Doyle (grandfather)
- The Great Wyrley Outrages
- Undershaw (home)
This article about an 1890s novel is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. See guidelines for writing about novels. Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page. |
- v
- t
- e